Minnesota Farmers most read blogs

This is me

A busy mind in many places. One of my children was asked what I did for a living. The list given includes my main occupation of farming but also goes on to school bus driver, carpentry, furniture making, developer, designer, landscaping, handyman and more. I've traveled in most states of the union (I'm missing two) and several foreign countries. My favorite vacation is a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I like to read. Favorite authors include western author Louis L'Amour, science fiction writer Anne McCaffrey and architect Sarah Susanka. I like to sing and am a bass in our local barbershop chorus. In church I also prefer the bass part. My best friend and wife, Karen, and I have 3 children who are all busy and happily building their own lives. We have twin granddaughters born in September 2011 and another granddaughter born in April 2014.

Every building project has it’s ups and downs. There are the parts of the project that are enjoyed and those that are not so enjoyable. We are now at the part of our addition that I like the least, shingling the roof.

Some of it may be my age. Bending down all day to place and nail shingles into place is not easy on the older body. Muscling the heavy bundles of shingles up a ladder is easier for me than the bending over. On a hot day the shingles can scuff if you are not careful, so taking care of how and where you step is a requirement. Working near the edge of the roof with that drop to the ground is not such a fun activity either. There is only one thing that is good about shingling, it means the project is getting nearer to the end.

In the case of our screen porch, we have the siding and a lot of the inside and outside detail done. Most posts are clad in cement board to protect them from the weather. Bead-board plywood is on the ceiling and the walls. Karen has been painting the screen doors and some of the siding. The floor is waiting for me to install it.

I know the project would have taken even longer without the investment in power tools. The air powered nailers really speed the project up. They make it possible for me to hold a piece in place with one hand and nail it with the other. They mean that with the squeeze of a trigger I can put a nail into place. I love power tools.

If the weather holds I’ll finish the roof tomorrow. Then I can finish off the details on the walls and start the floor. I will not finish the entire addition by harvest, but it will be usable.